Sony

Did you see Legion, the dreadful biblical action movie that was hardly biblical and barely an action movie? Don't feel bad, no one else did, either. Word of mouth seems to have effectively (and rightfully) killed Screen Gems' baby with a second weekend drop off at the box office that guarantees it can never be called a hit. But studios have lukewarm flicks all the time, right, no big deal?

Well, apparently it was a pretty big deal at the Sony owned genre arm. In what cannot be a coincidence, four days after Legion's 60% drop at the box office Screen Gems have announced the following release date shuffles:

- The Roommate: Sept. 17, 2010 to Feb. 4, 2011
- Priest: Aug 10, 2010 to Jan. 14, 2011
- Underworld 4: Jan 21, 2011 to Sept. 23, 2011

In addition to the date changes, it is looking like original Underworld helmer Len Wiseman and star Kate Beckinsale will be returning for part 4, though the rumor that it was going to arrive in 3D appears to have dried up. However, it does look like Priest, directed by Legion's Scott Stewart, will now be Priest 3D.

Yes, you read that right. Zombieland director Reuben Fleischer chatted with Moviehole last week and confirmed that Sony is interested in a sequel to the hit zom-com about a group of plague survivors fighting their way across America. He also confirmed that the entire cast is ready for round two but there was no word on when. "Whenever we crack it," was Fleischer's only clue as to when Sony would get moving. But before anyone could feel too bummed about it, Variety confirmed that Sony has closed deals with the film's producer, Gavin Polone and Fleischer for a sequel in 3D.

Negotiations are already under way to get stars Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg to reprise their roles as the zombie killing odd couple, Tallahassee and Columbus. Writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick who penned the original will return for the sequel. Polone told Variety he felt the 3D technique would be perfect for the film. "Everyone had fun watching Zombieland; making it a more visceral experience can only make it better," he said. Woody Harrelson has expressed an interest in seeing the film set in Paris or Broadway but no further details have been confirmed. There's also no word yet if Abigail Breslin and Emma Stone will make a comeback as the devious turned sweet sisters who team up with the boys for undead adventures.

I know the sequel haters are freaking out right now, but you had to know this was inevitable. Admittedly, I'm not sure if I'm sold on the 3D aspect. I hope the group can think of more clever rules to follow and deliver the gore that will make it worthwhile. Do you think the storyline warrants a 3D format or are these guys just hopping on the 3D bandwagon (which seems to be heavily laden these days)?

When the red-band trailer for Legion appeared online, the responses ranged from "What the hell?" to "How can angels go bad?" to "I don't like the look of that at all." All the footage is very dark, demonic, and confusing and we have to wait until January 2010 to figure out why all hell (or heaven) seems to be breaking loose.

But guess what! You don't have to wait that long if you're insanely curious about it. IDW Publishing announced that Scott Stewart and Tom Waltz have penned a four issue miniseries that will serve as a prequel to Stewart's upcoming holy war. Legion: Prophets will introduce you to the Theologians, the Guardian, the Codebreaker and the Voice, five very different and unlikely individuals who become humanity's only hope in surviving the Apocalypse. (Here we thought it all rested on the well-built shoulders of the ex-angelic Paul Bettany.) "There were a lot of cool and scary characters and situations that I wasn't able to include in the main narrative of the movie, so I'm very excited to be able to expand the Legion universe beyond the film and explore those other stories through the comic book series," says Stewart.

Legion: Prophets hits comic store shelves in November, just in time for the holidays and to make you look a little askance at the angels glittering on every holiday decoration. If you're still into the movie after reading the paper prequel, Legion comes to the big screen on January 22, 2010.

[via io9]

Fred Dekker and horror fans are eagerly awaiting the long delayed, special-edition DVD release of Night of the Creeps, which hits store shelves on October 20. As if those hours of extras weren't enough to whet your interest (and I've included a list of them below the jump in case you missed them the first tine around), now the special edition took a new turn for the fans.

According to Bloody-Disgusting, Sony is sponsoring an original contest via Amazon.com that allows fans to choose the final DVD cover. But don't get carried away thinking that fans will submit a cover, or have a variety of options to choose from. There's only three choices, none of them featuring the original poster or VHS cover art, and all of them rather ugly. (That's one girl's opinion, however, yours might vary considerably.) The one to the right is currently in the lead with 56% of the votes, probably because it has the most grindhouse flavor. But regardless of the choices, you should support DVD democracy and go vote for the one you like best.

I do hope this choose-your-own-cover contest is the first sign of a trend, and we'll have more contests. Perhaps it'll expand so that we could order any DVD with any cover art we choose. Obviously, there'd have to be a cost-effective limit of art choices available, but who wouldn't prefer to choose a beloved film's classic poster over the fugly Photoshops that often get slapped on DVD covers?


[via Twitchfilm]

Okay, so for months and months, we've yammered on about the merits of [REC], the Spanish-language horror flick that inspired the moderately successful Quarantine, and how we'd yet to see a proper domestic release of it (with Canadian retailers coming to the rescue in that regard).

Well, worry no more, all two of you that held out, because Sony's home entertainment department has seen fit to release the movie this July 14th, according to Fangoria and DVD Active. Apparently, the movie will come with a single making-of featurette, though I find the inclusion of an English-language dub track a bit superfluous in the wake of the (virtually) identical remake.

I haven't been able to check out Quarantine yet on home video, though I hear that the commentary track by the filmmakers makes no mention of this film, but does name-check their previous work, The Poughkeepsie Tapes, which has still yet to hit shelves. Maybe they'll get it out once they're done remaking [REC] 2...